Artists

Chuck Treece

Chuck Treece is a session musician and professional skateboarder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His credits include starting the 1980s skate punk band McRad, remixing songs for Amy Grant and Sting, playing the bass line on “The River of Dreams” by Billy Joel, filling in on drums at a Pearl Jam concert, and touring with Urge Overkill and Bad Brains. Treece grew up in Newark, Delaware, where he attended John Dickinson High School, but moved to Philadelphia in 1982 because, according to Treece, “I was sick of high-school and I knew I wasn’t going to college. I knew I wanted to do music and skate.” Between 1982 and 1990, he was a professional skater with endorsements by several companies, including Santa Cruz Skateboards, Powell-Peralta, and Airwalk sneakers

Treece released two albums with his band McRad, Absence of Sanity in the 1980s (rereleased 2001) and FDR in 2007. He also played guitar with New York Hardcore band Underdog and recorded on their 1989 LP “Vanishing Point”. In 1991, he also released a solo album on Caroline Records titled Dream’n. Most recently, Treece joined producer Chris DiBeneditto at Philadelphonic Studios to record the drum tracks for The Movement’s 2008 rock/reggae album Set Sail. After recording the album, fellow McRad bandmember Gary Jackson took on the role as drummer for The Movement. Treece continues to skate at FDR Skatepark in Philadelphia.

Treece started to make a name for himself as a session musician, making his mark, playing bass on the Billy Joel hit “River of Dreams”. The session gigs continued and continued working with loads of talented artists like King Britt, Buck-O-Nine, Res and G. Love. His most recent session work includes collaborations with producer Scott Storch for Jadakis featuring Mariah Carey, Kevin Little, and Ricky Martin. Plans are already in the works for future sessions with Busta Rhymes, Floetry, Vivian Green, Sean Paul, and Aretha Franklin.

In addition, Treece has continued life on the road with the Mosquitos (opening for the Doobie Brothers, Sugar Ray, and the B 52s) and playing bass on tour (and drums on record) with G Love and Special Sauce. In the interim Chuck Treece found time to work on a 4-track, bedroom project called Tent and plans to revive McRad by recording new material and re-releasing the old.

Treece says, “music is my heart and my job and skating is the release when situations in music and life get too stressed.”

Treece’s heart and his job come together as two more Philly collaborations are in full force: drumming in the punk outfit Stiffed (fronted by the dynamic Santi White) and producing the debut full-length of rock singer-songwriter sensation Leiana.

Not only does Chuck Treece sport excellent tube socks, he can play some music for you too. Treece is the only multi instrumentalist around town who’s plied his trade for the Bad Brains, Busta Rhymes and Billy Joel (he played bass on “River of Dreams”), not to mention such Philadelphia luminaries as the Goats, Stiffed, Nancy Falkow,G Class Heroes,Lauryn Hill,Bedioun SoundClash,G. Love, Jeffrey Gaines, King Britt and Stiffed. Treece is back out front with his original Philadelphia punk band, McRad. When McRad hits, the house bursts into action like ping pong balls in a lottery machine. (Rock and roll may not be all that dangerous in a socio-political sense anymore, but watch out when some punk rock enthusiast finally seeing the band of his dreams comes running at you like a human battering ram…) The music was pulverizing enough in its physicality to warrant the hyperactivity. Songs like “Weakness,” “McShred,” and the contemplative yet fierce “Words of Life,” rock hard but while blending punk and metal with elements of reggae and dub, are filled with rolling guitar solos.

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